Adams Presidency Adams defeated a very popular Thomas Jefferson to become the second President of the US Hamilton hated Adams and worked against both Adams and his vice president Jefferson Adams did not replace any of Washington’s advisors which proved to be a mistake Washington’s advisors were loyal to Hamilton Hamilton used them to sabotage the executive branch

Quasi-War with France France was upset with Jay’s treaty Called it a violation of the 1788 Franco-American treaty Began to seize US merchant vessels who were helpless to do anything about it The US navy was also unable to help, frustrating the people of the US

X, Y, Z Affair Adams sent three emissaries to France to negotiate with Talleyrand The US delegation was asked to pay for the honor of just meeting with the French Minister They declined to pay and returned home Americans greeted the emissaries as heroes for doing the right thing “Millions for defense, not one penny for tribute!”

X, Y, Z Affair The US public called for war, but Adams knew that war was not an option The US waged an unofficial war for over two years, attacking and taking French ships when possible

Adams as a Statesman Napoleon anxious to take Europe, sought to sign an agreement with the US to eliminate any chance of war with America Against the wishes of the general public, Adams sent three American envoys to Paris A treaty was signed in 1800 Ended the 1778 Alliance US must pay France for the loss of its merchant ships Treaty kept the US out of a war it could not win Cost Adams popular support Hamilton, who WANTED war, attacks Adams directly, destroying his political support, as well.

Alien and Sedition Acts It is soon clear that the Federalist party was in trouble! They sought to reinforce their vision for America which favored the educated elite Alien Act Changed residency requirement for citizenship from 5 to 14 years President was allowed to jail foreigners during times of peace and deport them during times of war

Alien and Sedition Acts Sedition Act Provided that anyone who impeded the policies of the government or falsely defamed its officials, including the president, would be liable to a heavy fine and imprisonment Law was aimed at the Democratic-Republicans and the Newspaper editors who supported them Was passed by the Federalists House and Senate and upheld by the Federalist courts

Alien and Sedition Acts The Sedition Act was... Completely unconstitutional Was written into law because the Federalists controlled both houses of Congress Was upheld because the Federalists dominated the courts Was the final blow to Adams’ popularity

The Virginia “Jefferson” and Kentucky “Madison” Resolutions Jefferson feared that the Federalists, having wiped out freedom of speech and of the press, might wipe out more. He wrote a series of legislation Kentucky Resolution in , and friend James Madison wrote another series of legislation (less extreme) called the Virginia Resolution.

Compact Theory 13 states, in creating the federal government, had entered into a contract regarding its jurisdiction, and the individual states were the final judges of the laws passed in Congress Since the states made the federal government, the states reserve the right to nullify those federal laws This legislation set out to kill the Sedition and Alien Laws Only those two states adopted the laws. Federalists, though, argued that the people, not the states, had made the contract, and it was up to the Supreme Court to nullify legislation, A procedure that it adopted in While neither Madison nor Jefferson wanted secession, they did want an end to Federalist abuses

Federalists v. Democratic-Republicans Federalists Most Federalists were the old Federalists from before the Constitution. They wanted a strong government ruled by the educated aristocrats, the “best people.” Most were the merchants, manufacturers, and shippers along the Atlantic seaboard. They were mostly pro-British and recognized that foreign trade was key in the U.S.

Federalists v. Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republicans Republicans were led by Thomas Jefferson, a poor speaker but a great writer and leader, and an appealer to the common people. They desired rule by informed classes and a weaker central government that would preserve the sovereignty of the states. They were mostly pro-French. Jefferson was rich and even owned slaves, but he sympathized with the common people. They emphasized that national debt had to be paid off, disliked government debt, and hated the National Bank.

Federalists v. Democratic-Republicans Democratic-Republicans They were mostly agrarians (farmers), and insisted on No privileges for the upper class. They saw farming was a noble profession He advocated rule of the people, but not all the people, just those who weren’t ignorant.